“Would have never matched elves with gambling. Anyhow.”
Zupher and Racer made their way toward the casino.
“Now lad, we ought to captivate ourselves again. Then once we're in, we will first have a look around and see if Vox has an obvious presence. If not, we'll ask around. As soon as we locate him or his guild, you'll take the invisibility potion and acquire the shroud or information regarding it under pure stealth. Now how does that sound?” Racer said, while leaning on the wall adjacent to the casino's entrance. He lit a cigar soon after speaking.
Zupher did not reply. He was feeling slightly nervous regarding the intensity of the task.
Racer puffed his cigar and directed his gaze at Zupher. He grinned. “What's wrong lad? This is definitely within your capability. You've been through far more vehement situations than this!”
Zupher looked up at Racer, closely. Staring deeper into his eyes than he ever had before. The tension he held then disappeared. He then pulled out his wand and worked the captivation charm on them.
They then proceeded to enter the casino. A wave of warm air immediately rushed upon their faces and the sound of progressive jazz filtered into their ears. It was unlike no casino Racer had ever seen. It was a lot more organised and clean for a start; but the kind of games that the elves were playing were especially striking. Most of them seemed to involve direct magic. Telekinesis was being used and there were dozens of conjured creatures about. In the middle of the casino, Zupher and Racer noticed a bar. While making their way to the bar, they attentively scanned every sector within their visual range. They were looking for any groups that stood out. There were a few groups that did catch their eye, however, the mages figured they were probably not Vox's men. Once they reached the bar, Zupher and Racer took a seat and stared at the barman. Nearly a minute passed before he finally tended to them.
“Oh my, travellers from an unconventional place,” the barman said, while leaning his left shoulder on the counter.
“Indeed,” Racer replied.
There was suddenly a loud crackle on one of the upper lights to the left of the bar. The barman turned his head in its direction. During this time, Racer uttered the same charm on the barman that he'd used on the matron. He then patted Zupher on the back: “Nice one.”
“I'm sorry, I did not quite catch that?” The barman said, while rubbing his temples.
“We asked about Rubeus Vox. We know that his guild comes regularly to this casino.”
“Vox you say? He's usually at the casino's private sector. Not too fond of gambling with the common rabble, if you will.”
“Where's this sector?' Racer asked.
“If you walk to the opposite end of the point we're at now and look to the far end, you'll notice a sign 'VIP'.” The barman looked down and grunted before grinning. “Why in the world are you interested in seeing this man though...” By the time he raised his head, the mages were gone.
Now on the other side of the bar, Zupher and Racer could clearly see the entrance to the private section.
“Right lad, if I'm not mistaken that appears to be a restroom,” Racer pointed to a sign with glyphs that faintly resembled male and female. “Go in there and administer the invisibility potion on yourself. Then go in and see what you can do.”
“What about you?” Zupher asked.
“I'll remain here for a while at the bar, in the hope that you'll return with the shroud or knowledge of where they keep it. If you take too long you'll find me with Bellona and Muriel at that inn we directed them to. I know you'll pull through with this, one way or another.”
Racer placed his hand on Zupher's shoulder and shot him a look, which nullified all of Zupher’s trepidation. Zupher headed to the restroom and gulped down the potion. The last time he took it back in the temple, the effect lasted until he attacked the corpse. Zupher figured that he'd remain invisible until he were to exert a large quantity of energy. There were two men standing adjacent to the entrance of the private sector; they both wore sunglasses and were looking dead ahead. There was no door or obstacle in the way of the entrance, so Zupher simply made his way through. Once he passed the area lit up by the neon-blue sign above ‘VIP’, Zupher found himself in a dimly lit room. There were sections of the room divided by hanging beads. Upon progressing deeper into the room, Zupher noticed a few men seated at the far end of the room with naked women amongst them. One of the men had a piece of fabric, wrapped around his neck like a scarf.
It was emanating a purple glow.
“Could this be the shroud the Elven Queen told us about?”
Zupher closed his eyes and focused on the energy within the room. He sensed an especial presence from the fabric. The other men in the room did not appear to be magic sensitive, save the man wearing the fabric.
As Zupher made his way closer, a person re-emerging from a beaded area nearly bumped into him. He took three deep breaths and looked onwards.
“Vox, we should leave now,” one of the men said.
The man wearing the purple fabric around his neck stood up and nodded at the man who just spoke. Zupher had no doubt in his mind now that it was indeed the magical shroud that he was here to retrieve. Out of the group of five men, one of them walked to the side of the room and removed a painting to reveal a lever. He pulled it, and the table where the men were sitting at was lifted in mid-air, revealing a hidden passage. One by one, each of the five men made their way within the passage. A woman who was among them then walked over to the lever. Just before she pulled it to close the chamber, Zupher quickly made his way in; giving more attention to silence than he'd ever given before. The passage was dark and featureless but yielded to a lavish chamber. Zupher had kept well behind the men while following them in the passage, and now found them seated by a rectangular table at the end of the chamber. There was a giant red ruby above Vox's head. Zupher stayed put for a few minutes. The men at the table soon all left. The last man remaining was Vox. He was seated with his hands behind his head and had his eyes closed bearing a grin on his face. Zupher pondered on whether he should sneak up to him now and attempt to remove the shroud from his possession, and replace it as subtly as possible with a substitute fabric.
‘It's too risky, he should be asleep,’ Zupher thought.
After nearly an hour, Vox finally left his seat and headed to a door at the far left wing of the chamber. Zupher immediately set forth to trail him. Vox opened the door wide and proceeded forth; after he took five steps, Zupher barely slipped through before the door shut. He was now within Vox's living quarters. It was red throughout and filled with paintings. Vox went into his closet and got changed into his pyjamas. He came to his bed with the shroud still around his neck. He got into his bed and turned off the lights. Zupher did not know exactly where the other men had all gone to, but it seemed that this hidden chamber of theirs was their guild’s lair. Zupher proceeded to sneak up to Vox as silently as possible. He made sure each step on the balls of his feet transitioned in perfect harmony. Although the room was now in near complete darkness, Zupher analysed the path he'd taken to sneak up to Vox in painstaking detail before he turned off the lights. Once Zupher reached close proximity of Vox, he waited. At Vox's current sleeping position, the shroud would be difficult to slip off his neck and he probably hadn't fallen asleep just yet. Ten minutes passed, and Vox turned to his side, and started to snore. Movement of his arm had caused the shroud to now slide by only one side of his neck; this was Zupher's chance.
Zupher started breathing in four-second breath cycles through his nose and slowly reached for the shroud. Once he gripped it, he slowly pulled it away from Vox's body. He maintained the same consistency of pulling force throughout so that the possibility of friction would be significantly reduced. Finally after nearly 15 seconds, Zupher had the entire shroud within his possession. He began to make his way out of Vox's living quarters. Once he reached the door he slowly opened it; it had not made so much noise when Vox initially opened it. As Zupher approached the
secret entrance to the casino, he looked around for a lever. A few minutes went by and he was having no luck finding it. Zupher thought about using clairvoyance to locate the leaver, but it would likely cost him his invisibility.
“There's surely a lever they use to get back to the casino just like they use to get in here. It’s worth the risk.”
Zupher took a deep breath and held his wand. He then focused on the lever mechanism that was used within the casino. He gave his full attention and focus on it while swaying his body and building mental energy. Zupher remained doing this until he got an intuitive feeling. He then pushed his wand in front of him and a trail of energy shot out of it that travelled a short distance to a spot on the floor inches away from him. Zupher was now no longer invisible but knew exactly where the lever was – under a false stone.
Zupher shifted the stone and pulled the lever. He slipped through the chamber door from the point of the slightest gap and started running. He knew now that he just had to make it back to Racer and the others as soon as possible, no matter what. Zupher burst through the private section, and rapidly made his way to the bar. Upon reaching the main area of the casino, Zupher noticed that Racer had left. He turned his head back to check if anyone was chasing him.
“No one? Well I'm still not going to waste any time.”
Zupher sprinted toward the exit of the casino, occasionally bumping into a few people. A couple of the casino's security tried to stop him, but he was too quick and agile. There was also a large concentration of people within the casino, which made it difficult for them to trail Zupher adequately. Zupher was now within close range of the exit when he noticed three security personae guarding it.
“You're not going anywhere buddy,” one of them said.
Zupher pulled out his wand and aimed it at the guard in the centre. He then projected his psyche at him using the wand as a catalyst. The guard’s defences were poor and Zupher managed to black him out, and the other two within quick succession. Zupher dashed out, after jumping over the three unconscious guards and made his way to the inn. Suddenly, when he was moments away from reaching the inn, Zupher was intercepted by six men. Rubeus Vox then emerged from the shadows and stood among them.
“Quite the talent you are, boy. You almost managed to steal my shroud from me utterly undetected.”
Zupher pressed the ring on his hand and raised it up to his mouth.
“Now why though, would you dare to steal from me of all people? A human in these parts must surely have been sent by someone. Who are you working with?”
Zupher lowered his hand and replied, “I'm afraid I was sent here to retrieve this shroud, not to steal it. The Elven Queen herself wants it back from you. You seem to be big-time thieves, so I doubt this shroud will make much of a difference now would it?”
“The Elven Queen wants her shroud back?” Vox said while looking at his other men. They then chuckled. “She would want you to believe it’s hers but that’s not the case boy. And my riches do not compare well at all relevant to that shroud. Look at yourself...” Vox grunted. “Holding that shroud, ignorant of the power it holds. On top of it you're telling me you're working for the Elven Queen.”
Zupher remained silent.
“Now I'll give you this chance to step forward and return the shroud. Once you do so, I want you to join us. Your infiltration skills are ascendant. Voluntarily do so and spare yourself any trouble.”
“Trouble?” Zupher replied.
“You're going to join us one way or another,” Vox asserted.
“I don't think so.”
“What?! No one has ever turned a direct offer down from me. Boy you don't kno...”
Before Vox could finish speaking, he was knocked out by Racer from behind. Two other men from his guild were also immediately incapacitated by Muriel. Vox's remaining men looked around in shock and upon setting their eyes on Bellona, they fled in terror upon the sight of her charged fireballs.
“Nice job lad, we can finally get the hell out of this place,” Racer said.
The mages gathered in a circle and Muriel administered the vanishing powder, teleporting them back the Elven Queen's castle.
Chapter 48
Abduction
Lord Auberon made his way to the courtyard of the Royal Council Longhouse and enchanted the final batch of Adlok citizens. He wouldn't have even needed his men to bring this last couple dozen people to him; for he had learnt how to unlock even more of the Stone’s power. The entire census of Adlok was now at the mercy of Lord Auberon and would unconditionally obey his every command.
“My Lord, we have managed to capture everyone; save for the few who fled beyond the city walls and those who committed suicide,” one of the Royal Council vampires said.
Lord Auberon remained silent and smirked with his eyes fixated on the stone, as if he was hypnotised by it.
“My lord... you're not going to use the stone on us are you?”
Lord Auberon rapidly turned his head at his subordinate. His left eye was glistening and he could sense the fear in his subordinate. “Now why would I do that?”
The Council vampire nodded and nervously replied, “We recently received word that the Council in Havenridge is on the verge of collapse.”
“Is that so? Well, let them bask in what they think is freedom for now; I will deal with Havenridge later, there is something more important that needs attending to.”
Lord Auberon made his way into his study and sat down. Over the last few days Zupher and the surviving mages had been troubling him. Upon further study on the stone, he noticed a soul trapped within it; and it was no ordinary soul, it was that of a vampire. Lord Auberon figured this must have been the work of the mages. Somebody had the stone not too long before him and was stopped by the mages. He had underestimated them. He did not know where they fled to, but knew exactly how to draw them to him.
“They must no longer be given the incentive to live. I'd be foolish to give them all the time in the world to figure out a way to stop me. If I have learnt anything from Magic, it is that anything is possible.”
Vesser and her mother were sitting at the point where the river diverged. They looked onwards to the Elven River, remaining silent among the roaring current.
“I know you want to see your brother more than anything. I do too. We just have to trust he'll make it back okay. There are somethings in life that just need to be accepted; that require your faith so they turn out for the best.”
Vesser continued looking onwards, pretending not to hear her mother.
“Come, let’s go.”
Arna reached out for Vesser's hand and helped her up. They then started making their way toward the village centre. Again, they noticed Lucius training his students as they made their way by the field.
“You know, you ought to join in. You'll begin to settle in with your new talents a lot easier in a social setting like that. You might also learn some special things among a group.”
Vesser looked at her mother and after a few seconds nodded and smiled. She then headed off to join them. Arna stayed for a few moments and watched Vesser. This was how she would have preferred Vesser to grow up.
‘It may not have happened, but everything happens for a reason, and we ought to learn from the effects of the past to create a better future,’ Arna thought to herself.
She then headed over to Elsje's hut, enjoying the revitalising rays of the countryside sun on her skin. Upon reaching Elsje's door she knocked. “Elsje it’s Arna; do you have a minute?”
“Yes, please darling, do come in.”
Elsje wrapped up with a customer and smiled at Arna.
“How are you finding things in the village; changed much at all since you've last been here?”
“Really doesn't seem like it hey. Tradition has definitely kept strong in its roots here.”
“Aye, my grandmother always used to tell me ‘The old ways are always better’. I remember questioning her in my youth when she said that to me. I asked, �
��But what about new ways, new ideas?’ She replied something along the lines of ‘As long as they don't compromise the old ways. We owe our virtue to the old ways.’”
“We do indeed...” Arna lost eye contact with Elsje and was staring into space.
“The intensity of the situation has hit me. My entire life has flipped in such a short space of time.”
Elsje reached over and placed her hand on Arna's shoulder, “I know dear, I could certainly tell. Don't forget that you are where you need to be right now.”
Suddenly, the door of Elsje's shop burst open with such a force that it loosened from its hinges. A wave of light shot out at the same time, which left Arna and Elsje stunned. Lord Auberon casually strolled in looking at all the things Elsje had for sale in her shop.
“Well well, an alchemist’s shop. Let's see, oh, some foxglove moss, the western mandrake, balmony ribwort,” Lord Auberon maintained a grin as he scanned the space of the shop. “What is this here? 'A beginners guide on principle herbs and their uses.' How wonderful! Ah, don't think I didn't notice you have a crystal section.”
Arna and Elsje shook their heads, recovering from the stun. As soon as Arna recognised Lord Auberon was standing before her, she was ridden with anger, “What the hell do you want. You've used cowardly means to subdue an entire city and that didn't satisfy you?”
Arna drew out her wand and pointed it at him.
“Now now, I wouldn't do that if you were you,” Lord Auberon directed the Stone of Elsira right at them. It then flashed and Arna screamed in pain. “Now where is your daughter?”
Moments later, Vesser and Lucius rushed into the shop; they had heard Arna's scream. Upon realising it was Lord Auberon who was standing before them, Vesser stopped in her tracks, paralysed in fear. “You filthy abomination! To hell with you!” Lucius shouted. Lucius clasped his hands together and opened them, releasing three infernal ghouls at Lord Auberon.
“Ah, a summoner. Impressive conjuration, however...” Lord Auberon wove the stone before him creating a forcefield of light that absorbed the ghouls on impact. “You fools don't get it; I am a god. No power can rival that of this holy stone that destiny has bestowed unto me.” A burst of light then shot out of the stone that flung Lucius over twenty metres through a window. Now, let’s go have dinner, shall we?”
The Stone of Elsira Page 22